Despite losing their first match in one of the great World Cup upsets against Saudi Arabia, the two-time former winners still bounced back to win Group C and now face a favourable last 16 draw against outsiders Australia.

ONE middleweight and light heavyweight world champion Reinier “The Dutch Knight” de Ridder has won his last two MMA bouts in the ONE Circle via submission, and he plans to go for three in a row on Saturday, Dec. 3, at ONE Fight Night 5.

The top US diplomat, who spent part of his childhood in France, at a luncheon Thursday in honor of Macron offered a light-hearted thank-you to Macron over his favorite team.

Roberto Martinez's side missed a host of chances to claim the win they needed against Croatia to advance from Group F, with striker Romelu Lukaku’s lack of match sharpness telling as they had to settle for a goalless draw and third in the pool.

Belgium, No. 2 in the FIFA rankings, was eliminated after playing to a 0-0 tie with Croatia in Doha, Qatar. It needed a win to advance out of the group stage but squandered prime scoring chances against Croatia, which advanced with the draw.

"Japan, bravo! Japan, bravo!", they cheered after the 2-1 victory, singing the popular "Vamos Nippon" football chant and waving the country's flag.

After a surprise 2-1 loss in the opening game to Japan, the team left themselves a hill to climb to make it through to the knockout round in Qatar. 

Despite being holders, Germany were eliminated at the group stage four years ago in Russia and they are desperate to avoid a repeat when they play Costa Rica in Group E.

Defender Leander Dendoncker, wing-back Yannick Carrasco and attacking midfielders Leandro Trossard and Dries Mertens come into the side in a major shake-up from Martinez that sees Kevin De Bruyne wear the skipper's armband. 

Les Bleus, who face Poland in the last 16 on Sunday, underperformed at the Education City stadium and only after Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele came off the bench did they pose any threat.

The 37-year-old Portugal captain missed Wednesday's practice and stayed at the gym to do recovery and specific exercises and, with his team already through to the knock-out stages, he could be rested against South Korea even if fit.

A sense of euphoria was in the air in the country, particularly in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Palermo, where thousands of jubilant fans crowded to watch the match on a giant screen in the park.

Despite being holders, Germany were eliminated at the group stage four years ago in Russia, and they are desperate to avoid a repeat when they play Costa Rica in Group E.

ONE interim heavyweight world champion Anatoly Malykhin is going for gold yet again when he challenges two-division king Reinier De Ridder for his light heavyweight throne in the main event of ONE Fight Night 5 on Saturday.

Two games into Brazil's bid to win a record sixth World Cup, the Selecao have not conceded a goal and have not even given away a shot on target in victories over Serbia and Switzerland that saw them clinch qualification for the last 16 with a group game to spare.

Poland top the standings on four points and will advance with a win or a draw. But they would be knocked out by a defeat coupled with a victory by Saudi Arabia over Mexico. 

There was no replay of the street celebrations last Friday, when people danced after Iran beat Wales.

The 25-year-old forward played a starring role as Gareth Southgate's men wrapped up their Group B campaign in style on Tuesday to progress to the last 16, where they will play Senegal.

Expectations for Wednesday’s meeting with Tunisia in their last group game in Qatar are very different, with the powerful French side through to the last 16 and expected to sweep the African team aside, but there is sure to be an edginess to the contest, born of the colonial links between the countries.

The Americans earned a second round meeting with the Netherlands after Christian Pulisic bundled the ball into the net in the 38th minute of an absorbing contest in Doha. 

The man identified as Mario Ferri also wore a T-shirt with the words "Respect for Iranian Woman" on the back and "Save Ukraine" on the front.

The Real Madrid striker pulled out of the France squad with an injured left thigh on the eve of the tournament and departed their team hotel in Qatar soon afterwards.

Ever since the draw for the tournament was made in April, the Group B game between the US and Iran has stood out as one of the highlights of the first phase in Qatar.

US Soccer sparked uproar over the weekend after posting an Iranian flag without its Allah symbol on the federation's social media feeds in what it said it was a gesture of solidarity with Iranian women protesters.

The five-time World Cup winners knew a second straight win in Group G on Monday would clinch their place in the knockout phase with a game to spare.

Kade Ruotolo clearly doesn’t believe in long layoffs, as he is already preparing for his first defense of the ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Championship after only winning it in October.

ONE Middleweight and Light Heavyweight World Champion Reinier “The Dutch Knight” de Ridder is set to return to the ONE Championship Circle in the main event of ONE Fight Night 5 on Dec. 3 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila.